Chess World Melts As Magnus Carlsen Sends Warm Birthday Wish To D Gukesh
Chess World Melts As Magnus Carlsen Sends Warm Birthday Wish To D Gukesh Published By, Last Updated: May 29, 2026, 19:27 IST Magnus Carlsen shares
Chess World Melts As Magnus Carlsen Sends Warm Birthday Wish To D Gukesh Published By, Last Updated: May 29, 2026, 19:27 IST Magnus Carlsen shares a witty birthday message as D Gukesh turns 20, while their Norway Chess clash shifts tournament momentum ahead of Gukesh's title defence. Rapid Read D Gukesh celebrates his 20th birthday on Friday (Picture credit: X @NorwayChess) World No. 1 chess player Magnus Carlsen left a witty yet heartfelt message for world champion D Gukesh, who turned 20 on Friday. The Carlsen vs Gukesh battle has been one to look forward to, with the latter losing his last match as a teenager to Carlsen on Thursday. In a clip shared by Norway Chess, Carlsen teased the reigning world champion as he celebrated his 20th birthday.
“Very happy birthday to Gukesh. You’re not a teenager anymore; time to grow up," Carlsen said. Happy Birthday, World Champion Gukesh! 🤗 pic.twitter.com/f3SnEwwJnf— Norway Chess (@NorwayChess) May 29, 2026 “So hi, Gukesh. Happy birthday to you. Have good health and long life," R Praggnanandhaa said. “Many happy returns of the day, Gukesh. So now you have just moved on from being a teenager to celebrating your 20th birthday and I wish you all the best in all your endeavours and we all are proud of you," Koneru Humpy said. Meanwhile, Carlsen, who had made a sluggish start to the tournament, climbed from the bottom of the standings to sole fourth place with 4.5 points after bagging three full points.
On the other hand, a dejected Gukesh exited the playing hall through a side door, leaving behind multiple young fans waiting for autographs. At the bottom of the standings is reigning world champion Gukesh on 3.5 points, with the tournament threatening to become another disappointing campaign for the young Indian ahead of his world title defence against challenger Javokhir Sindarov later this year. There were no table slams or dramatic ‘Oh my God!’ reactions from Carlsen this time, unlike his emotional loss to Gukesh last year, as the Norwegian great converted his advantage with the black pieces. “I would not say I was super-motivated today. I kind of had enough after playing really poorly for three days in a row with very little time.
Today, I did not have a lot of expectations, but I was happy with the way things went in the opening," Carlsen said. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: May 29, 2026, 19:17 IST News sports chess Chess World Melts As Magnus Carlsen Sends Warm Birthday Wish To D Gukesh Disclaimer: Comments reflect users’ views, not News18’s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments...
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